Welcome to my blog world where I share my love of family, photography,
handmade cards and all things crafts.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The worries never end...

This week started out fine. Gonzalo left for Miami on Monday for a much needed vacation and on Tuesday I turned 41. Things were sailing along just fine until I get a call Tuesday night from my mom's neighbor asking if everything was alright. I braced myself and say "yes, why?" she goes on to tell me that the paramedics were at my parents house and that they were preparing to transport someone. I thanked her and then rush out the door. Once I get there the house is empty and my mom's car is gone. I go inside to see if I can figure out what happened. First thing I notice at the bottom of the stairs is my dad's broken glasses covered with blood. That was my first clue that my dad got hurt somehow and was rushed to the hospital. I look around and find a soda can and other items strewn all over the floor. It appeared he had fallen down the stairs. So I rush out of the house and call Ernie while driving and asked him to call Memorial to find out if he was transported there. He called back and said they did not have anyone by that name registered. My gut told me to continue on to Memorial and that I would find him there. Once I get to the ER I find my 76 year old mother sitting in a room that is jam-packed with people coughing, sneezing and vomitting all over the place. She was just getting over a cold herself and I could just see the fear in her face about my dad and about being in that awful place. With a heart condition and delicate immune system I can understand why she worries. We hug and she tells me what happened. The second floor of their house has two rooms. My dad was either walking from one room to the other and somehow tumbled down the stairs or was starting to head down the stairs and lost his balance and fell all the way down. Mom was watching the Lakers game in her room downstairs and heard this "thunderous" sound and then a thump at the bottom of the stairs. She jumped up to find my dad unconscious and bleeding from the ear. She worked really hard to get him to wake up screaming his name until he finally came to. She knew he was hurt bad and called 911. He wanted to go back to sleep but she kept him awake until help arrived. He was initially going to be taken to St. Mary's or Pacific but my mom insisted on Memorial so that was where he went. Mom followed in her car of course. After I got there I inquired about his status but the girl at the reception desk insisted he was not there. I KNEW he was because I called the Fire dept and they confirmed he was dropped off at 10pm. So after much arguing and going back and forth with this person, I ended up speaking with her manager who in a matter of minutes located my dad in their trauma unit. I was initially told to go look for him at another local hospital but I stood my ground and didn't budge. If I hadn't I would have been driving all over town looking for him. He hadn't been officially admitted which was why his name didn't come up on their computer. Obviously I got the girl's name and supervisor's name and will handle this with the hospital's customer service director (who happens to by my boss) once I get back to work.

The next day we learn that my dad has a blood and fluid accumulation on his brain and would need surgery right away to drain it. The surgery went well. However, dad is dealing with other issues like his fractured knee and his emotional and mental status due to the unexpected surgery. The brain is a delicate organ and I think anytime surgery is involved there are bound to be some sort of behavioral issues as a result of it. We'll see what the next few days bring. So far he is stable which we are grateful for.

Wait! there is more....Lindsey went on a 3-day trip to Rawhide Ranch with her 7th grade class last week. Apparently one of her classmates, who shared the same cabin as Lindsey, had to go home early because she was feeling ill. Later we got news that she was confirmed to have the H1N1 virus. On Wednesday when I returned from the hospital I found Lindsey crying and with a fever. My first thought was "please Lord, not her". Her fever has been up and down since that night. The doctor said she just needs to ride it out and drink lots of fluids and take fever medicine which I've been giving her. There is a drug they can prescribe but I wasn't eager to start her on it because of some of the side effects. So far she has been doing fine. She does have some coughing, sneezing, runny nose but she is strong and taking all her fluids and has a healthy appetite which has helped tremendously. She missed two days of school which she wasn't happy about. Thursday she was texting her friend with instructions on what to do on a group math project they were working on the previous day. So different from when I was her age. When I was home sick I was just happy to be away from school and my teachers and would watch I Love Lucy and Brady Bunch all day long. As hard as we tried to keep this from spreading it looks like Nikki caught the bug as well. So here we are pushing on with the fluids and fever reducing meds and just hoping this cup will pass us soon.